Connection Flange And Associated Collector Box And Heat Exchanger

ABSTRACT

A connection flange for a collector box of a heat exchanger for a vehicle defines a fluid inlet and/or a fluid outlet. The flange comprises a fixing adaptor for mounting the heat exchanger on a fixing support (e.g. a mounting bracket) of the vehicle. The fixing adaptor is produced separately from the flange. A collector box comprising such a connection flange and a heat exchanger comprising such a collector box are also disclosed.

The invention relates to a flange of a collector box of a heat exchanger, notably for a motor vehicle.

Heat exchangers used in motor vehicles for example as condensers in an air conditioning circuit, are already known.

Such a circuit generally comprises a compressor, a gas cooler or condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator. The condenser is designed to condense and/or cool the first fluid by exchange of heat with the second fluid.

In this case, the first fluid used may be a refrigerant, such as a Freon-based fluid, and the second fluid may be a coolant such as air.

In general, the heat exchanger comprises a heat exchange core bundle and a collector box.

The collector box in certain known solutions may be produced in two parts, with a header to accept the ends of the tubes and a cover that is fixed to the header to close the collector box, sealing it. The cover is generally able to accept connecting flanges that form inlets/outlets for a fluid that is to pass through the heat exchanger.

However, a first connecting flanges solution entails a machining operation in order to make the connection to the header.

Flanges produced by extrusion in a different direction of extrusion from the aforementioned first flanges have been proposed so that a zone for crimping to the header can be produced easily that makes it possible to dispense with the additional machining operation needed to make this connection.

Moreover, the cover is generally also able to accept adapters for fixing the exchanger to a support of the motor vehicle.

As a cost reduction measure, it is known practice for this fixing function to be performed using the connecting flanges.

However, in the embodiment variant whereby the flanges are extruded in a different direction of extrusion by comparison with the known first flanges, incorporating fixing adapters onto the flange entails a significant additional machining operation.

This machining operation generally leads to an additional cost and goes against the desire to reduce costs by creating the fixing function on the connecting flanges.

It is therefore an objective of the invention to alleviate these various drawbacks of the prior art.

To this end, one subject of the invention is a connecting flange for a heat exchanger collector box, said flange defining a fluid inlet and/or outlet, characterized in that said flange comprises an adapter for fixing said exchanger to a fixing support of the vehicle, said adapter being produced separately from said flange.

Said flange may further comprise one or more of the following features, considered separately or in combination:

-   -   said flange comprises a housing to house said fixing adapter,         such that said housing is produced by extrusion in the direction         of extrusion of said flange;     -   said fixing adapter is screwed to said flange;     -   said flange and said fixing adapter are joined together by         brazing;     -   said fixing adapter is configured to be crimped into said         housing of said flange;     -   said fixing adapter crimped to said flange is configured to hold         said fixing adapter and said flange during brazing;     -   said housing is produced in the form of a groove;     -   said fixing adapter is produced in the form of a fixing strip;     -   said strip is bent in such a way that at least one end of said         strip is configured to come into contact with a complementary         surface of said fixing support;     -   said fixing adapter is made of aluminum;     -   said flange has a profile configured to accept complementary         crimping means associated with a collector box, and said profile         is produced by extrusion in the direction of extrusion of said         flange.

The invention also relates to a fluid collector box for a heat exchanger notably for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one connecting flange defining a fluid inlet and/or outlet as defined hereinabove.

According to one embodiment, the collector box comprises a fluid header and a cover to close said header, and said header has crimping means configured to be bent over onto said at least one connecting flange.

The invention further relates to a heat exchanger, notably for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one collector box comprising at least one connecting flange as defined hereinabove.

According to one embodiment, said exchanger is a condenser notably for an air conditioning circuit in a motor vehicle.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent from reading the following description, given by way of illustrative and nonlimiting example, and from studying the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a heat exchanger,

FIG. 2 is a partial view depicting a header and a connecting flange of the exchanger of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connecting flange of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fixing strip for fixing the exchanger to a support of the vehicle, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the connecting flange and of the fixing strip when they have been assembled.

In these figures, elements that are substantially identical bear the same references.

FIG. 1 is a simplified depiction of a heat exchanger 1 such as a condenser of an air conditioning circuit, comprising a core bundle made up of a multiplicity of tubes 3, arranged in one or more rows of tubes 3.

The exchanger 1 in the example illustrated comprises two fluid collector boxes 5 to allow a fluid to be admitted so that it can flow through the core bundle and the fluid can then be removed.

For this purpose, fluid inlet and outlet flanges 7 are provided, these according to the example illustrated being mounted on a collector box 5.

The connecting flanges 7 are, for example, made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

A collector box 5 may comprise a first part forming a header 9 to accept the ends of the tubes 3.

The collector box 5 may further comprise a cover 11 to close the box 5. The header 9 and the associated cover 11 thus delimit a cavity into which the ends of the tubes 3 open.

The header 9 and the cover 11 are, for example, produced as two distinct parts.

As is best visible in FIG. 2, the header 9 is, by way of example, substantially U-shaped overall with two lateral branches 13. To that end, the header 9 has a multiplicity of mutually parallel transverse slits the shape of which is adapted to fit that of the tube 3 ends that pass through the header 9.

Moreover, the lateral branches 13 of the header 9 have respectively at their ends, crimping means 15 which are intended to be bent over toward the inside of the cavity delimited by the header 9 and the cover 11, so as to press against the external face of the cover 11. The “external face” means that face of the cover 9 that faces toward the outside of the cavity.

The crimping means 15 are, in the example illustrated, produced by the longitudinal margin 15 of the header 9.

The cover 11 for its part has a shape that complements that of the header 9.

According to the embodiment illustrated, the cover 11 is also substantially U-shaped overall with two lateral branches 17. The U shape of the cover 11 is the opposite of the U-shape of the header 9. That allows the header 9 and the cover 11 to nestle together and allows the longitudinal margins 15 of the header 9 to crimp onto the cover 11, more specifically onto the external face of the cover 11.

To achieve that, the distance separating the external faces of the lateral branches 17 of the cover 11 is substantially equal, with a lesser value, to the distance separating the internal faces of the lateral branches 13 of the header 9.

By analogy with “external face”, “internal face” means a face facing toward the inside of the cavity.

Furthermore, the crimping means 15 of the header are also configured to be crimped onto the connecting flange 7.

To that end, the connecting flange 7 has a shape that complements the crimping means 15 here formed by the longitudinal margins 15 of the header 9.

More specifically, on its flanks 19 and 21, the connecting flange 7 has a profile suited to accepting the longitudinal margins of the header 9.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connecting flange 7 has a groove 23 for example on at least one flank 19. During crimping, the longitudinal margins of the header 9 are bent over into this groove 23.

The other flank 21 of the flange 7 may for example have an end stop 25 against which the inside of a longitudinal margin 15 comes into contact when bent over.

Further, the flange 7 at its end in contact with the cover 11 has a shape that complements that of the cover 11 so as to follow the shape of the cover 11. In the example illustrated, the end of the flange 7 is substantially U-shaped.

Thus, when the longitudinal margins 15 of the header 9 are bent over, the flange 7 and the header 9 are crimped together and at the same time the cover 11 is held between the flange 7 and the header 9.

This particular profile of the flange 7 allows simplified connection between the collector box 5 and the connecting flange 7 by crimping, without the need to perform special machining on the connecting flange 7 in order to fit it.

Specifically, this special profile of the flange 7 is created by extrusion. This extrusion is done in the direction of extrusion depicted schematically by the arrow A in FIG. 3.

Moreover, fixing adapters 27 (cf FIG. 1) for fixing the exchanger 1 to a fixing support of the vehicle (not depicted) are provided. The issue is notably one of holding such an exchanger 1 in the environment under the hood of the vehicle.

It may be necessary for these fixing adapters 27 to correspond to “standard” locations within the vehicle. What that means is that these fixing adapters 27 have to offer fixing surfaces that are at the same locations as in the prior art.

To reduce costs, the connecting flanges 7 advantageously comprise such fixing adapters 27.

The connecting flanges 7 that have the particular profile as described hereinabove offer, on their flanks 19, 21, planar surfaces able to accept fixing adapters 27.

The fixing adapters 27 are, for example, made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, each connecting flange 7 may comprise a fixing adapter 27.

The fixing adapter 27 is, for example, secured to the associated connecting flange 7 by brazing.

For that, provision is made for a flange 7 to comprise a housing 29 (visible in FIG. 3) to house a fixing adapter 27 and to allow the flange 7 and the fixing adapter 27 to be assembled.

This housing 29 is made in the flange 7 by extrusion and in the same direction of extrusion as the flange 7, indicated schematically by the arrow A in FIG. 3.

This housing 29 is produced at the same time as the flange 7.

Creating the housing 29 that houses the fixing adapter 27 in the same direction of extrusion as the flange 7 makes it possible to limit production costs. It dispenses with the additional costs of machining the flange 27 in order to make fixing adapters on the flange 7.

According to the example illustrated, the housing 29 is produced in the form of a groove.

More specifically, the housing 29 is, for example, a crimping groove.

As an alternative, provision may be made for the fixing adapter 27 for example to be screwed to the flange 7 or even screwed into the housing 29.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the fixing adapters 27 are, for example, produced in the form of fixing strips 27.

Such a fixing strip 27 is better visible in FIG. 4.

The fixing strip 27 has a shape that complements the housing 29 of the connecting flange 7; this shape further being adapted so that it offers fixing surfaces at the so-called “standard” locations within the vehicle.

Thus, according to the example illustrated, the fixing strip 27 offers an assembly part 31 that complements the groove 29 of the flange 7.

This assembly part 31 is substantially U-shaped overall with a central branch 31 a and two lateral branches 31 b and 31 c extending one on either side of the central branch 31 a.

This U shape allows the strip 27 to be mounted in the rail 29 in such a way that the strip 27 also at least partially envelops part of the flanks 19 and 21 of the flange 7.

Furthermore, the fixing strip 27 is bent at least at one end 31 b, 31 c.

In that way, the end or ends can come into contact with a complementary surface (not depicted) of the support to which the exchanger 1 is to be fixed. This complementary surface may be a so-called “standard” location according to the practices of the prior art.

According to the embodiment described, the fixing strip 27 is bent on both sides, to form two fixing surfaces 33 and 35 which fall at the so-called “standard” locations for fixing to the exchanger support (not depicted).

The strip 27 described therefore forms a substantially staircase shape on either side.

As stated previously, the housing 29 is, for example, a crimping groove. In this case, the fixing strip 27 is crimped into the groove 29.

This crimping allows the fixing strip 27 and the connecting flange 7 to be held together so that they can be brazed to join them together definitively.

It will therefore be appreciated that a connecting flange 7 comprising a fixing adapter housed in a housing made in the same direction of extrusion as the flange makes it possible to reduce production costs because, on the one hand, the function of mechanically fixing the exchanger to the vehicle environment is performed by the flange and, on the other hand, there is no need to plan additional machining of the flange 7 in order to perform this function.

Such a connecting flange 7 may therefore have the preferred design described hereinabove that allows a simple joint to be achieved by crimping the connecting flange 7 to the collector box 5. 

1. A connecting flange for a collector box of a heat exchanger for a vehicle, said flange defining a fluid inlet and/or a fluid outlet, said flange comprising a fixing adapter for fixing the heat exchanger to a fixing support of the vehicle, said fixing adapter being produced separately from said flange.
 2. The flange as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a housing to house said fixing adapter, wherein said housing his produced by extrusion in the direction of extrusion of said flange.
 3. The flange as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing adapter is screwed to said flange.
 4. The flange as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fixing adapter is crimped into said housing of said flange.
 5. The flange as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flange and said fixing adapter are joined together by brazing.
 6. The flange as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fixing adapter is crimped to said housing of said flange and is configured to hold said fixing adapter and said flange during brazing.
 7. The flange as claimed in claim 2, wherein said housing is produced in the form of a groove.
 8. The flange as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing adapter is produced in the form of a fixing strip.
 9. The flange as claimed in claim 8, wherein said fixing strip is bent in such a way that at least one end of said fixing strip is configured to come into contact with a complementary surface of the fixing support of the vehicle.
 10. The flange as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing adapter is made of aluminum.
 11. The flange as claimed in claim 1, having a profile configured to accept complementary crimping means associated with a collector box, wherein said profile is produced by extrusion in the direction of extrusion of said flange.
 12. A fluid collector box for a heat exchanger for a vehicle, wherein said collector box comprises at least one flange as claimed in claim
 1. 13. The collector box as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a fluid header and a cover to close said header, wherein said header has crimping means configured to be bent over onto said at least one flange.
 14. A heat exchanger for a vehicle, said heat exchanger comprising at least one fluid collector box, wherein said at least one collector box comprises at least one flange as claimed in claim
 1. 15. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 14, further defined as a condenser for an air conditioning circuit in the vehicle.
 16. The flange as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fixing adapter is screwed to said flange. 